RESULTS: International Adhesions Society (IAS) Research Study on Opioid Use in Chronic Pain

FDA is considering reducing access to pain relieving medication.

Thanks to 2909 chronic pain patients and 10 patient organizations/web sites, we will be able to make our voice heard with the results of this survey conducted by the International Adhesions Society and supported by KevMed, LLC.

Our data highlight concerns that the proposals will reduce the ability of a large majority (over 80%) of these patients to access pain medication or to be reimbursed for it. In these patients, the use of opioids:a) exceeds 90 days, and often more than 2 years (85.5% of patients)b) sometimes exceeds 100mg morphine equivalent daily (24.3% of patients)c) treats pain that is less than severe (46.3%)d) is necessary, even with non-severe pain because other approaches have failed to provide relief.e) would be regarded as "off-label" in 92.4% of patients if the labeling proposals are implemented.

See our full statement at:www.synechion.com/IAS2013-FDA-OpioidSurv­ey.pdf

Opioids (narcotic drugs related to morphine) contribute to about 75% of all deaths due to prescription drugs. Although US opioid sales are estimated to be $9 billion, societal costs of opioid abuse, misuse, addiction and overdose are estimated at $56 billion.

Concerned about these statistics, FDA is inviting comment about proposals to limit the types of pain, doses and length of treatment for which opioids are approved. The proposals, if implemented could limit legitimate access to opioids by patients with chronic pain.

We have collected ACTUAL data on opioid use in patients with chronic pain, especially pelvic & abdominal pain due to adhesions, ARD, CAPPS, interstitial cystitis, IBS, pudendal neuralgia, endometriosis, and hysterectomy complications. Patients with other types of chronic pain also participated in this important effort.

No one wants to take any drugs, much less opioids but until there is widespread use of alternatives such as PainShield MD we must ensure access of chronic pain patients to opioids. We certainly want to see safer prescribing habits, but we do not believe the current FDA proposals will accomplish that. We also encourage comprehensive polices on pain itself, the prevention of its root causes and the streamlining of the approval for marketing and reimbursement of new pain-relieving products.

Please check out and tell your friends about PainShield MD, which we have found to reduce painful bowel, bladder, genital, musculoskeletal and other symptoms associated with ARD, adhesions, CAPPS, endometriosis, IC and IBS. PainShieldMD is being sold through KevMed - www.kevmed.com - a company we set up as a result of IAS research and whose profits we hope eventually will fund the IAS as well as further advances in the alleviation of suffering by not only adhesions patients, but all patients suffering with chronic pain.

To help you take charge of your pain we have designed a free Pain Diary that will help you track your condition and effectively communicate with your doctor leaving more time to plan and implement effective treatment. You can download this at http://www.kevmed.com/PainDiary.html.